


Lost in Hulbury

by Chiluver



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Childhood Friends, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I just really wanted to write something cute with them as kids okay, One Shot, with a little bit of hurt/comfort on the side
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-17 22:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21601036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiluver/pseuds/Chiluver
Summary: Leon's penchant for getting hopelessly lost started when he was young. Fortunately, a new friend notices and decides to help him out.
Relationships: Raihan/Leon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 324





	Lost in Hulbury

**Author's Note:**

> On the heels of a huge thanksgiving dinner I got struck with inspiration and suddenly had written the outline for this on my phone in the car on the way back from visiting family. I've been wanting to write a Leon/Raihan centric one-shot for DAYS since playing Pokemon Sword. I'll definitely be writing more stuff on these two, but for now here's something fluffy and cute. I usually prefer the thought that they were childhood friends growing up, but I decided to take a different spin on the idea of them having met later instead. Hope you enjoy!  
> \---------------  
> chibolts @ twitter

The biggest outdoor market that Leon had ever laid eyes on had just opened up in Hulbury. He’d seen them plenty on the telly, and they looked massive just on the screen. He’d never had the opportunity to leave his sleepy hometown of Postwick yet though, eager to eventually start his Pokémon journey but too young to go out on his own at eight years old. Often, when his parents had to work or go out of town to do the shopping or other business of some kind, his grandparents would gladly stay home to keep an eye on him. It was just as well; Leon loved to play in the outdoors surrounding his home, and while he was relatively safe so long as he didn’t try to wander into the tall grass, there were certain areas he’d always been earned to avoid.

One such place had been the old side road beyond the house where a newlywed couple had recently moved in. Far beyond the picket fence the forest grew thick and dark, with heavy fog that perpetually blanketed the place so intensely that it seemed like dusk even during the day. Leon had never intended to go far enough that day to get himself turned around, but it seemed as if the moment he stepped past the fog he couldn’t find the exit again no matter what he did.

He’d been six, then. He still didn’t remember a whole lot about what happened, or how he even managed to make it back out...frazzled and crying, but otherwise unhurt. He could only tell his parents that he thought he saw a larger dog Pokemon- someone’s wandering Bolthund from the Wooloo fields perhaps- and he followed it until he got back out. From that day on the Slumbering Weald was off limits, a locked gate erected to prevent any curious child from wandering too far again.

After that incident, on his seventh birthday, Leon had been presented with a Pokeball. Inside had been an incredibly rare Pokémon not native to the Galar region: the fire type starter from Kanto, Charmander. It seemed that Magnolia had contacts, friends with professors from many regions, and was already a long time friend of Leon’s family. Hearing about what happened to him last year, she had commented to his parents that a Pokémon partner that could help guide and protect him might not be a bad idea for a rambunctious young Leon.

He was ecstatic, and he and his Charmander became fast friends. Charmander was touted as one of the harder to train starters from that region, and often trainers chose the laid back Bulbasaur or the cool headed Squirtle to start their journeys off with. Charmander was a popular pick for its strength and appearance, but not everyone could handle the task of training one...but Leon, at such a young age, saw his Charmander as his friend as much as his Pokémon. He was an only child after all, so many of his afternoons were spent playing with him as the two frolicked in the backyard, Charmander’s tail flame keeping the night illuminated so Leon never had to feel afraid that he’d lose his way.

Leon and that very same Charmander sat side-by-side inside the Corviknight taxi as they and Leon’s mother made the half hour long flight to Hulbury. Leon had begged her to take him to the market with her ever since she expressed wanting to do some shopping there, to which she eventually agreed on the stipulation that he be on his best behavior. No wandering off. 

Of course he could do that! It’s not like there was anywhere he’d be wandering to.

It wasn’t long before they finally landed, Leon hopping straight out of the taxi car to the ground without taking the steps. Charmander followed suit, clambering down after with Mum right after as the Corviknight’s trainer tipped his hat to them and bid them a good day. Before leaving though, Leon spun around on his heel with a wave up to the Pokémon, “Thank you for taking us!” 

The Corviknight, having just settled on its perch, blinked steely intense eyes as it looked down at Leon and his Charmander, giving a raspy squawk in reply.

Leon is pulled away by his mother guiding him by the hand, instructing him a second time to stay close. Hulbury wasn’t as large as a place like Wyndon, but one could easily get turned around if they’d never visited before. It was quite the change of scenery for Leon, with it being right by the water as it was. There were a lot of water-types here he would guess, eyeing the Wingull flying low over the water’s surface with a smattering of Pelipper farther out, searching for Arrokuda and Magikarp to snack on. He even spots a Cramorant standing perfectly still on the docks near a few fisherman, watching them with a perpetually wall-eyed stare as if expecting the fish they’re catching to be delivered directly to its mouth.

The market isn’t far from the entrance to town, but Mum wanted to stop at the Pokémon center first. It’s not terribly exciting at first glance, all things considered. All Pokémon centers look the same on the inside in every town due to the way they’re constructed, but that’s not what really makes a center special. It’s all the Pokémon that pass through it. 

Leon and Charmander sit on a cushioned bench near the door as Mum gets some coffee from the left side, giving the young boy an opportunity to curiously observe the trainers coming and going. A lot of them, he realizes after the third trainer clutching a damp and exhausted Pokémon steps in, are coming off the heels of a battle with the gym leader that had gone sour. Could that mean they were gym challengers? The thought made Leon’s heart beat faster as he turned to his Charmander currently nibbling on a Sitrus Berry from Mum’s bag.

“You see all those trainers? They just fought the gym leader. They use lots of water type Pokémon. That means that we’d have a tough time battling them.”

Charmander tilts its head a little to one side with a soft ‘Charr...’ before Leon’s face splits into a wide, blinding grin, his hand settling atop Charmander’s head to pet him there.

“C’mon, what’s that face for? Just cause it’d be hard doesn’t mean we wouldn’t win anyway! We’re super strong, there’s no way we’d lose.”

Only Leon would look at a water gym with his fire type and boldly declare that he’d win the badge, no matter what. 

Next is the market, which is expectedly bustling this time of morning. Not only that, it’s new so obviously everyone in and outside of town is wanting to visit. The Pokémon Center tends to always carry the essentials for trainers on the go, but unless you were shaking them off the trees yourself or heading out into the wild area, things like berries and ingredients for curry were a bit harder to come by unless you went to a market like this one. Not only that, but there were plenty of other things being sold as well with various booths and pop up shops at every customer’s disposal. Leon’s Mum had a list, but she didn’t seem to be in a hurry to rush through and just buy what she needed and leave, at least. It left for plenty of opportunity to look around.

And boy, was there a lot to look at. Stands chock full of the aforementioned fresh berries for sale, shelves of Pokémon toys and treats, and since it was the gym season, lots and lots of merchandise featuring the best trainers in Galar, particularly the eight gym leaders. Leon craned his neck to look at the ball caps lining a shelf above a stall owner’s head with logos on them for each gym. There are jumpers too, and backpacks as well as gloves and socks and...basically anything you could think of, really. There were even special types of Pokeballs on display here that the Center in Hulbury didn’t sell, all of them minimized to golf-ball size and seated in little velvet cases for people to look at. 

“Char! Char!” Charmander exclaimed, tugging on Leon’s pant leg until he looked over to see what the Pokémon wanted, smiling when he notices him looking at the toys. There’s a ball that looks like a large bell he seems to have his eye on, so Leon stepped up to the booth and leaned forward on his tiptoes, pointing upwards at it.

“Is it okay if he looks at that one?” Leon asks, to which the seller nodded and removed the toy from the shelf, handing it down to Charmander. Delighted, the Pokémon hopped a little in place, shaking the toy until it chimed.

It was then that Leon spotted something at eye-level that he overlooked, gasping when he realized that the booth with the gym leader merch had packs of trading cards featuring them all, prompting Leon to reach out to pick one up wrapped in silver foil. The front had the gym leader Kabu with his Centiscorch emblazoned in fire behind him, a tease that he or any of the top leader cards could be inside this pack. He’d already been considering asking his Mum if he could get a hat from here, but now he couldn’t choose between that and the cards...she did say he could get one thing, but how was he supposed to choose?

“Mum! Is it okay if I-?” Leon started as he turned around with the pack still in hand, only to stiffen and quickly step back at the realization that the market stalls had become incredibly full of people all of a sudden. He hadn’t really been paying attention while looking at the merch, leading him to be caught unawares as traffic between the various stalls picked up. People were shoulder to shoulder as they browsed, leaving Leon heads below most of the other adults around. 

Worse still, he couldn’t see his Charmander all of a sudden. He could hear the soft chime of the bell toy he’d been holding though, so Leon quickly replaced the cards on the stand so he could follow after it. Charmander wasn’t hard to spot with the flame on his tail, so he was probably just stuck behind someone’s legs, unable to get back to the stall. 

“‘Scuse me- pardon!”

Leon said to passerby as he pushed past them, carefully squeezing his way through the crowd as he chased the sound of the bell. It was getting simultaneously closer and farther away as they must have been both looking for one another, wandering in a wide circle between the stands while trying not to get swept up in the crowd. Every so often the boy would get tripped up, his bag caught on someone else’s or a smaller Pokémon underfoot nearly causing him to lose his balance. A Yamper in a young girl’s arms yipped at him as he passed, causing him to startle and run bodily into someone’s legs from behind. An older man who didn’t even look to see who it was, just angrily grousing that he needed to watch where he was going.

“S-sorry! Charmander? Charmander!!! Mum!”

The tinkling of the toy slowly began to grow louder, giving Leon hope that his partner was nearby. The crowd was starting to thin a bit as well the further he went, which made it easier to actually make sense of where he was headed. He must be just a little further ahead, he could still hear it-!

Leon stumbled, breaking through yet another thick part in the crowd with a hand holding his cap to his head, looking around frantically for the source of the bell. It was just around the next stall from here...he jogged that way, skidding through the dirt until he rounded the corner, narrowly missing running into yet another adult browsing on his way.

Just ahead stood a woman with a basket threaded over one of her arms as she picked out ingredients for curry. Just at her side was a stroller with a toddler buckled into it, holding in her chubby little fist a stuffed ring that jingled when she shook it, meaning that Leon had been following the wrong sound this entire time. Stunned and left at a loss, he turned to look back in the direction he’d just come from, but it did no good. It was completely unrecognizable, and there was more than one stall selling gym merch here, surely. Even if he could find that same one, what were the odds that he’d be able to find Charmander again, or his Mum for that matter? The market is a huge and sprawling maze of stalls, people, and their Pokemon after all, so he’d be lucky to actually find his way out and towards the docks again where they’d first walked in. 

All Leon knew to do was keep walking straight until he got out, calling for his Mum and Charmander every so often as the crowd continued to eb and flow like a never-ending sea. Now that he knew he was alone though, the confidence and positive attitude he’d had about getting to explore such a big place for the first time had been dashed, his mind clouded with worries now that he’d wound up totally lost. He couldn’t figure out which direction he’d even come from before, or which he was going now…maybe he should try to head towards the sound of the Wingull by the water? At least then he’d be able to go to the Pokemon Center, if he could even get out of this crowd…

Before he realized it, his vision had gone blurry and walking any further became impossible as he moved to the side of the path, squatting down to balance on his toes as he scrubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand, struggling to keep himself from starting to cry. He was way, way too old to be crying. What kid didn’t get separated from their parents every once and a while, it wasn’t the end of the world. He’d find his Mum and Charmander eventually, if they didn’t find him first. Maybe it would be a better idea if he stayed put? At least then if they were trying to find him they wouldn’t be going around in circles-

“Craaa!!” 

Leon nearly jumped out of his skin when a sudden shriek from above caused him to startle, losing his balance and falling flat on his rear in the dirt. Fortunately not directly in the middle of where people were walking but, you know…in the way enough that people would sort of eye him before walking around if they even noticed him at all. With his heart firmly lodged in his throat, Leon looked up to see that Cramorant from the docks before perched unhelpfully on top of one of the canvas covered stalls, blinking its eyes out of sync as it watched the stall owner turning some sort of fish over a skewer as it roasted over a grill. 

Well…he’d been doing well enough to keep himself together, but that shock was all he needed for the rest of his nerves to fray. Leon sniffled, picking himself up shakily so he could dart around to the back side of the stall away from where people were walking, not caring anymore if he was spotted and got in trouble for being there or whatever. From there he plopped firmly down on the ground with his knees pulled to his chest, pressing his face hard into arms folded overtop them as he choked back a sob. At least back here he wouldn’t have to deal with strangers seeing him cry. Today’s turned to rubbish enough as it is. 

“Oi. You alright there, mate?”

Spoke too soon. 

Leon stiffened at the voice, almost afraid to look up. Ignoring it would do him little good at this juncture though beyond leaving him even more upset and alone, so with his cheeks heating up with shame he lifted his head slightly from his arms, his lashes wet with tears. He was met with another boy his age standing just a few feet away, leaning slightly over to try and look at his face. In his arms he held a very round Trapinch whose front feet draped over the boy’s forearms, head tilting at Leon as the two regarded him, visibly unsure. 

He sniffed, quickly smearing his face against his arms as he glanced away, half expecting to be made fun of for sitting there crying like a baby.

“I’m fine,” he lied.

The boy responded to that by pursing his lips before stepping closer, squatting down next to Leon without prompting. Leon resolved to keep looking away, but that didn’t deter the boy at all. He just knelt there with him, and if Leon was looking he’d see his expression was one of concern more than it was derision. 

“Didja’ get lost?” he asked next, causing Leon to flush an even deeper red before finally lifting his head, turning to look at the boy with his eyes glassy.

“Sod off, will ya?!” he snapped, causing the boy’s brows to raise past his hairline. Leon pretty much immediately regretted raising his voice; he didn’t mean to be rude, he was just…stressed out and scared, obviously. Who knows where his Mum was now, and there was no sign of his Charmander anywhere, leaving him to worry about silly things like somebody seeing a rare Pokemon like that and choosing to steal it for themselves instead of bringing it to the Center to find its owner. It was easy to imagine the worst case scenarios in a situation like this, even if logically he knew none of that was probably going to end up happening.

A tense, awkward silence fell between the two boys then as the stranger struggled for a moment to find words. He exchanged a glance with his partner, who looked up at him with that usual, sharp-toothed grin of his that always helped him feel better. He had no idea if this kid was lost or what his problem was, but it was easy to hazard a guess. It seemed that he was right anyway by that reaction, and kids often got lost in crowds like this…so after giving Leon a moment to calm down a bit, the boy moved a little closer without getting up in his space too badly, the Trapinch still in his arms. 

“My name’s Raihan,” he offered carefully, nodding his head to the Pokemon he held, “and this is my pal Trapinch.” 

“Piiinch,” Trapinch said in a high sort of voice that made the corners of Leon’s lips quirk upward a bit in spite of himself. He rubbed at his eyes again.

“…Leon. I’m Leon,” he eventually replied, shifting to rest his cheek against his arm as Raihan moved to sit instead of squat. He would have been fine with more silence after that, but instead Leon continues, looking cowed, “I got separated from my Mum and my partner. Charmander.”

“Woah! You got a Charmander?!” Raihan very suddenly blurted, loud enough that Leon stiffened and looked his way. Even Trapinch reacted, his legs wiggling a little at the loud voice. Now that Leon got a good look at him and the way he smiled broadly with a grin that split his face, the first thing he noticed was how sharp his incisors were. It was almost a little frightening. 

“Yeah. I got him for my birthday last year,” Leon continued, perking up just slightly as he talked about him. 

“Man…that’s awesome,” Raihan sighed, leaning back a little against the stob holding down the tent they were currently sitting behind. “I know Charmander is a fire type, but…Charizard totally looks like a big dragon, don’t it? Dragon types are my favorite!”

Leon smiled a little and nodded in agreement, the brim of his hat shading his eyes from the sun as he watched Raihan probably imagining a Charizard right now blasting a flamethrower attack into the air or something. 

“Yeah, they do. They’re really cool,” Leon couldn’t help but agree. “Flygon’s just as cool, though. And it’s a ground type, so it’s got an advantage over Charizard anyway.”

“Yeah? Y’think so?” Raihan looked pleased as he smoothed a hand over the top of Trapinch’s head, prompting the Pokemon to chitter happily and nudge upwards against his finger to encourage more petting. Leon nodded before glancing off to the side slightly, still looking sad even with Raihan’s maybe unintentional attempts to cheer him up. None of this changed the fact that Charmander was still missing. 

Raihan leaned over, once again trying to look Leon in the face. This time though, Leon actually looked back at him without being prompted, somehow able to feel the other boy looking at him before he said anything. Looking hopeful, Raihan said, carefully, “I can help you find him, if ya want. And if we can’t, I’ll go back to the Pokemon Center with you so we can find both him and your Mum.”

Leon sat up a little at that, finally lifting his head from his arms. 

“Really?” he asked, to which Raihan nodded enthusiastically, already pushing himself up from the ground as he worked Trapinch around in his arms, propping the Pokemon up on his shoulders so he could lean forward with his head and front feet atop Raihan’s head. It looked practiced, like the two had done this many times before. 

“Sure! My mum and dad are runnin’ a stall here over the summer, so I know this place like the back of my hand.”

Now that his hands were free, Raihan held one of them out for Leon to take without pause. He seemed unsure initially, but he didn’t want to just sit here alone…so after a moment he took the offered hand, letting Raihan pull him to his feet. Once there, he somehow didn’t quite let it go.

“Are you sure…?” Leon asked.

“Uh huh! Cause once we find your Mum and Charmander, I wanna have a battle with you!”

That caught Leon off guard. He’d never had what could be considered a real, serious battle before. At least not with another kid and their Pokemon, like real trainers. Leon’s confusion made Raihan antsy enough to lift a hand and point at him, his expression serious.

“No buts! You can’t tell me about your Charmander and not let me have a battle with you!” 

“Okay, okay,” Leon relented, shaking his head slightly as Raihan’s expression went back to his previous smile, Trapinch’s eyes closing with amusement at the two. “Just get me back to the Pokemon Center in one piece, please…we can battle if Mum doesn’t kill me first.” 

Raihan laughed heartily at that, tugging Leon forward as he slowly weaved his way back through the stalls and into the crowd. Leon couldn’t help the instant swell of anxiety in his chest at having to go back out into this massive throng of people again where he’d surely just get lost- again- but fortunately for him Raihan didn’t actually let go of his hand after helping him to his feet. He kept a firm but gentle grip as he led the way forward with Leon following close behind, not having to worry as much now about getting turned around. It was still busy, meaning that the crowds had only gotten bigger in the time they were sitting down, and a time or two the people trying to move past threatened to pull the boys apart. Any time that happened though, Raihan would stop until Leon could catch up, or he’d turn a different way so they could get by easier. Occasionally Leon would reflexively grab for the back of Raihan’s jumper if it seemed like he was going too fast for him, but fortunately for them both they managed to stick together. Trapinch was helping too, able to see above the crowd where Raihan couldn’t and let him know if they were headed the right way.

When they finally broke through the crowd, Leon had never been happier to see the red roof of the Pokemon Center in his whole life. 

It was embarrassing, having to walk up to the counter with a boy he’d only just met a few minutes ago to tell the nurse that he’d lost his Mum. It made him want to cry again even though he knew her sympathetic glance was only that, but somehow…having Raihan there helped it not feel so bad. She had her Clefable partner help man the counter for a moment as she stepped around to lead the boys to sit where his Mum had gotten coffee before, asking them to stay put there while she paged an officer to the Center.

Some trip to Hulbury this turned out to be. 

But…Leon supposed it wasn’t so bad. While they sat there waiting, Raihan let go of Leon’s hand long enough to take his Trapinch off his head and place him unceremoniously in Leon’s lap as he rummaged in his bag for something. Seemed like Leon needed him more than he did right now, or maybe he just deposited the Pokemon without considering it…it could go either way. What was undeniable though was the way Leon immediately brightened when he pulled out a small stack of cards he’d shoved into the bottom of his bag, all of them trading cards from those trainer packs that Leon had been looking at before that ended up starting this whole mess. It gave the boys something to chat animatedly about as they waited, because as it turned out they were both enamored with the league and the idea of becoming gym challengers themselves when they got old enough. Before all was said and done, Leon ended up with one of Raihan’s own cards that he’d gotten lucky enough to get doubles of: a copy of the trainer card for Kabu that had been advertised that Leon was looking at before.

It wasn’t long that the two had to wait, fortunately. Maybe an hour or so between the nurse getting help and returning, bringing the two some biscuits from the café while an officer found Leon’s Mum with relatively little trouble. She’d gone to the authorities herself by now, so it was only a matter of time, really. 

Leon sat forward when he heard the Pokemon Center’s doors open for the hundredth time since they got there, gasping sharply when his Mum stepped through, followed quickly by an extremely distraught Charmander. Leon’s trainers squeaked against the linoleum floor in his haste to get up, nearly tumbling over as Charmander threw himself into Leon’s arms, crying as his Mum came over and knelt so she could wrap her arms around them both. Leon could only apologize over and over for not paying attention and getting separated when he promised he wouldn’t, only to break down crying again as she hushed him gently and stroked her fingers through his hair, petting Charmander with her other hand. It wasn’t like she wasn’t overwhelmingly relieved herself, having been in a right state after losing her son like that in the crowd. Leon had been worried she’d be cross with him, but more than anything she was just glad that he was safe…especially when she found Charmander without Leon. 

Eventually the three pulled apart, allowing Leon to turn back to Raihan who had been standing with his hands in his pockets nearby, Trapinch still sitting perched on the bench. Leon had explained somewhere in his stressed apologizing that Raihan had helped him find his way back to the Center, so all she could do was thank him, to which the boy was…as modest as ever about it, grinning toothily.

“Nothin’ to it. I mean it’s not like I could just leave him, he woulda’ been lost forever!” 

Leon made a face, reaching out to shove Raihan to responded by just laughing as if they’d been friends forever, immediately turning his attention to Charmander standing close to Leon with his paw clutching the edge of his pants. “So this is your Charmander, huh? Looks pretty strong…but I betcha he can’t beat Trapinch here, though!” 

Leon opened his mouth to retort, but before he could say anything else his Mum reached for his hand, saying that it was time to leave Hulbury now to head back home. The thought of that was both a relief and not to Leon, since he didn’t want to leave his new friend so soon. Because after all that? They were mates, no question. 

Though…Raihan had said his parents were working here for the summer. It wasn’t like he couldn’t come back again. Still, he shook his head a little as he looked back at his Mum, his eyes shining- not with tears- but with excitement. 

“I gotta have a battle first!”


End file.
